Alien: Covenant has a prologue short film

I’m going to try an keep calm throughout this recap of what we just watched, but forgive me if I go off a bit off the rails. I’ve been so excited for this movie, I can barely contain myself.

Ok, so what does this little prologue short film tell us about Alien: Covenant? For one, James Franco is the captain of this mission. It will be interesting to see what kind of captain he is.

Michael Fassbender is back as an android, and in this short we see him playing Walter. A totally new andriod. (he will also be reprising his role as David).

Danny McBride, as always, steals the show. He waits until Captain Branson (Franco) hits the sleep chamber before throwing on a cowboy hat and leading the crew in pre-sleep festivities.

We now know that the Covenant ship is on a “large-scale colonization” mission, which means a few things. One, this storyline is independent of Prometheus; although I obviously suspect a crossover of characters with Noomi Rapace and Michael Fassbender’s casted into this movie. And two, this adds a new aspect to the Alien franchise…significant others. It looks as though the crew on this mission are largely husbands and wives tasked with colonizing a new planet. This will surely invoke all types of interesting survival instincts when the shit inventively hits the fan.

Speaking of, how about the choking bit in this short?! I was half-expecting a tiny xenomorph to launch itself from her chest, but then Walter comes over and defuses the tension. If this is just a glimpse of things to come, then I think it’s safe to say Ridley Scott has another terrifyingly suspenseful thriller on his hands.

Lastly, I think we have found our protagonist. Katherine Waterston (you might recognize her from Fantastic Beasts) is playing a character named ‘Daniels’ in Covenant. So, what does this short tell us about her character? For one, she’s the take charge type. She swoops in and gives a chilling speech about the coming mission. And she does it without being called upon, she volunteers to give a few words. So she’s obviously the leader-type, even though she might not be in the role of a leader (where have we seen that before?). But, the most telling thing about her character is that she is alone. Yeah she’s with the crew, but look how she is placed among them. Centered, with space on either side of her while the rest of the crew is cuddled up with their significant others. Does she have an S/O on this mission? Doesn’t look like it. All I know is when shit starts going south it’s every man and woman for themselves.